The Nashville Dispatch, Ya Gotta Love It: Know it all or wealth of information?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Welcome to The Nashville Dispatch, a feature on NRI NOW. 

In this monthly column submitted by Burrillville native Keith Bradford, we cover topics in the music business designed to inform, entertain, and enlighten people interested in the topic.

Know it all or wealth of information?

Have you ever heard the phrase, “He is a know it all?” Would you rather be called that, or be known as a person with “a wealth of information?” Have you ever listened to the audio playback of a conversation you had with a fellow musician or singer/songwriter? Were you the dominate voice or the listener?

If you do all the talking you will, in fact, let the world know all that you have knowledge of. If, on the other hand, you wish to know more than you already are aware of, then listen to find out what the other person knows. Some people are perfectly content doing all the talking because it gives them a sense of pride of how smart they are. This is dangerous because the other person may never get the chance to tell you what they know and worse yet they may even classify you as a bragger.  

The best way to handle this predicament is to let the other person ask you a question, then answer it to the best of your knowledge. Then, the opportunity is open for other questions, and thus the conversation is not dominated by either party. People that tend to want to do the majority of the talking often pick and choose their friends and associates based on how well they listen to the all-knowing dominate speaker – themself. My grandmother used to say to me as a youngster going out the door to school each morning, “Learn all you can.” That woman only went as far as 5^th grade in school and was a very wise lady. The way you learn is by listening, and not letting everyone know what you know.

This applies very much to the music business. If someone tells you something you don’t agree with, it is far better to file away the information as something you don’t want to do or believe in, than to stand there and become argumentative. Many fantastic bands through the years have broken up because of creative differences. Soak up all you can from fellow musicians, song writers, and anyone else involved in making music. Take away from it what you can use, and discard the rest.  

The Music Business – Ya Gotta Luv It

Keith Bradford is the host of Ya Gotta Love It, a country music show on NBRN based in Nashville, Tenn. Also a singer and song writer, Bradford is the owner and operator of KMA Records in Nashville and brings more than 60 years of industry knowledge to the endeavor.

Do you have questions about the music business? Have a topic or artist you’d like Keith to discuss? Send your questions and requests to [email protected].